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Thursday, December 21, 2017

Bits & Bites

Merchandise from Kit & Ace, makers of "technical cashmere," has resurfaced in an unlikely location. As ToNeTo Atlanta reported in April, the company, developed by the family that created lululemon athletica, closed all of their U.S. stores to focus on their home turf Canada. For months their store in The Shops Buckhead Atlanta sat idle, with all of the merchandise in the store, as if with the turn of a key, it would reopen. While that never happened, their merchandise is now being liquidated at a different place in Buckhead. A temporary pop-up liquidation store is open in the "Disco Kroger" shopping center at Piedmont and Peachtree Roads and is currently offering the remaining merchandise of the retailer's Buckhead outpost for between 50-75% off, with management granting an additional 10% discount for ToNeTo Atlanta readers. The store, located to the left of Jamison Shaw Hairdressers, will remain open until December 31st.

Toys "R" Us to close 200 stores. Wayne, New Jersey-based Toys "R" Us, which filed for bankruptcy protection in September, could close as many as 200 stores, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Holiday sales at the retailer are down a reported 15% compared to the same period last year. Specific closure plans will likely be announced early next year. The company operated 879 U.S. stores as of the end of January, according to its last annual report. In metro Atlanta, Toys "R" Us closed its stores in Tucker near Northlake Mall and in Buckhead near Phipps Plaza, in 2015. The retailer continues to operate a number of Atlanta area stores including those in Kennesaw near Town Center at Cobb, Smyrna near Cumberland Mall, Alpharetta near North Point Mall, and Buford near Mall of Georgia, among others. Toys "R" Us also operates the Babies "R" Us retail chain that operates both stand-alone and co-branded stores, including some in Georgia.

Chef/owner Pasquale “Pat” Pascarella (formerly of The Optimist) and Gabriele Besozzi are partnering to open The White Bullin downtown Decatur on East Court Square next door to Brick Store Pub. The restaurant's name was inspired by American novelist Ernest Hemingway, who referred to the blank page as “the white bull." The restaurant, which sources say is meant to emulate the popular Staplehouse, will "showcase a thoughtful menu of simple, farm-forward American fare prepared from the finest ingredients in an inviting and approachable atmosphere." The White Bull opens in place of Truman Tavern which opened last year and closed earlier this year. Before Truman Tavern the space was home to Colbeh, a Persian eatery, and before that, it was Zucca, a pizza restaurant. The White Bull is expected to open in January.

Amorino Gelato, famous for their rose sculpted gelato and sorbet, will open their second Atlanta area location in Buckhead this Saturday, December 23 at 1 pm. The shop, located at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta, will be in "Center Plaza," between ATTOM and Tod’s. The first Atlanta Amorino opened in a kiosk on the main level of Lenox Square in Buckhead last summer.

Houston-based Charming Charlie, a women's accessories retailer, announced plans recently to close 97 stores in conjunction with their chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. There is at least one location on the list, The Avenue West Cobb in Marietta, slated to close by the end of the year. Other Atlanta area Charming Charlies include those in Cumberland Mall in Smyrna, Mall of Georgia in Buford and at The Forum in Norcross.